


in the auspicious present

by tetsuyas



Series: akakuro week 2017 [2]
Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: AkaKuro Week 2017, Alternate Universe - Gods & Goddesses, Alternate Universe - Historical, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-13
Updated: 2017-04-13
Packaged: 2018-10-18 06:01:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10610745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tetsuyas/pseuds/tetsuyas
Summary: "“Deities don’t breathe, Seijuro-kun,” he replies with a huff as he rests his head on Akashi’s shoulders."





	

**Author's Note:**

> uhhhh this is low-key trash but whatever??? its also confusing as hecko sorry

i.

When Tetsuya opens his eyes, he discovers that he is, in fact, underwater. Which is a bit of a shock to him, of course. As a deity, he should have at least some power, but as he sinks further and further he realizes that there isn’t an iota of energy inside him. He is not Aomine Daiki, who finds power as natural as breathing. He is not Akashi Seijuro, who sits above the chaos of the world beneath him, simply because he is  _ the emperor _ . 

 

(there was a time when akashi seijuro did not stand before the rest of the word, when he walked side by side with tetsuya, their arms interlocked. tetsuya tries not to think of the bitter past, and focuses instead on the recently returned twin crimson eyes of his lover.)

 

Time seems to slow as Tetsuya falls underwater. He does not need to breathe, because he is not a  _ human _ , he is a deity and he is immortal and powerful--and yet he finds himself unable to do anything except watch the water break up the rays of sunlight far above him. The cold bites at his skin, and he cannot hear himself breathe or his heart beat, because those are the quirky traits unique to the humans that he adores so much. The water is completely still and silent, and Tetsuya begins to wonder if this is the true epitome of an underwater grave. 

 

Sometime before he hits the rocks scattered across the lake floor, Tetsuya realizes that he is powerless because no one believes in him anymore. The thought burns and his chest hurts, crushed by the freezing and devastating feeling of failure. There is a lump in his throat, and his fists weakly ball together. Tetsuya does not cry, because  _ deities are strong, they do not cry, they are not weak. _

 

But he asks himself,  _ Can deities feel heartbreak? _

 

Then, he finally understands. He will be here, in this godforsaken lake, for the rest of eternity, and he will be forgotten from history as nothing more than a small footnote. No one will remember him, and life in Edo will move on, because the world still turns without a Kuroko Tetsuya. There will be no more fist-bumps, no more shared snacks, no more endless chatter and overzealous hugs, no more long fingers wrapped in bandages and fanatically clutching the daily lucky item, no more--

 

_ Ah. There is still someone _ , Tetsuya recalls faintly. 

 

He remembers steam curling from two ceramic teacups of uji tea, conversing under the cherry blossom trees, the sound of his and Akashi’s geta clacking on the wooden bridge over a lazy river, two open books (one about philosophy and one about shogi), interlocked hands, the sound of shifting yukatas, playfully bumping knees under the dining table, and running up and down the steps that led to their temple in the mountains. 

He remembers his lover’s charming, charming smile, his absolute confidence ( _ bordering on arrogance _ , he used to tease), the way that he walked along the fine line of polite and cruel, his awful jokes ( _ Kurokocchi, they’re just the worst! _ , Kise complains once). The way he holds his head high and moves through the temple with endless grace and poise and the way his eyebrows furrow slightly whenever Midorima makes a particularly excellent move. But most of all, Tetsuya recalls the way that Akashi Seijuro would earnestly hold Tetsuya’s hand with both of his, and whisper that he would tear down the world for Tetsuya.  

 

ii.  **in** **the unwritten past**

Tetsuya first opens his eyes when a young man with a shock of red hair and crimson red eyes taps him lightly on the shoulder. They’re both under a cherry blossom tree, and a few petals land on the other boy’s head. Impulsively, Tetsuya reaches over and carefully brushes the petals off. The red haired boy laughs, and Tetsuya swears that flowers start to bloom on the earth below them. He introduces himself as Akashi Seijuro, and the rest, as the humans say, is history. 

 

iii.  **in the auspicious present**

Slowly, Tetsuya pushes himself up and up and up, shedding his obi and hakama along the way, until his fingers graze the surface of the water and he resurfaces. He squints at the harsh light as he rests on a patch of grass near the edge of a lake and lies down, content to bask in the warmth of the sun again. 

 

He lies there in silence for several hours, his cheek pressed to the dirt, and is on the verge of falling asleep before a familiar voice calls out amusedly, “Are you planning on staying there all day, Tetsuya?” 

 

He looks up, and the sight makes his breath hitch. Aomine and Kise, both draped in layers of beautiful silk, are playfully fighting as usual, their heads occasionally bumping and various curses streaming out of their mouths. Aomine tosses Kise into the bushes, the branches snapping under his weight, before Kise comes back and barrels headfirst into Aomine’s stomach. But at the sight of Tetsuya rising from his almost slumber, Kise perks up and bounds over to Tetsuya, with Aomine following behind him.

 

“Kurokocchi! I’ve missed you so-” Kise’s declaration is abruptly cut off when Aomine pushes him to the side “ _ So mean, Aominecchi!” _ , grinning all the while. Tetsuya cannot remember the last time that Aomine had smiled like that.

 

“Yo, Tetsu,” Aomine greets, and holds out his fist.

 

Tetsuya hesitates for a moment, then bumps his own fist with Aomine’s. “Hello Aomine-kun,” he replies, and adds as an afterthought, “And hello to Kise-kun as well.”

 

Resting on the trunk of a huge cherry blossom tree was Murasakibara. He slept peacefully despite the antics of Kise and Aomine, his long arms spread out over the ground. A packet of rice crackers lay on his stomach, and the crumbs decorated his hair and around his mouth. Tetsuya smiles slightly at the sight, but then turns his attention to the two deities engrossed in a game of shogi under the falling petals. 

 

Midorima scowls as his trap is once again evaded by Akashi and pushes up his glasses. Akashi hums faintly and rests his cheek in the palm of his hand. 

 

“Akashi, one day you will lose,” Midorima declares when he puts down his piece, to which Akashi replies with an enigmatic smile.  

 

“I do not expect it to be today, however, Midorima,” he responds lightly, before picking up one of the pieces and placing it on the wooden board with a resounding  _ clack _ . Akashi looks up grins at Tetsuya and says, “Welcome back, Tetsuya. I knew that you would resurface.”

 

Tetsuya’s heart does not beat, but it still manages to flutter at the utterly blinding smile of Akashi Seijuro. 400 years had not once changed Tetsuya’s adoration for this man.

 

_ Can deities feel heartbreak? _ Perhaps, but then they could love too. 

 

“Breathe easy now, Tetsuya,” Akashi says, wrapping his arms around Tetsuya’s still-wet kimono as the shorter male climbs into his lap. 

  
“Deities don’t breathe, Seijuro-kun,” he replies with a huff as he rests his head on Akashi’s shoulders. Akashi smiles affectionately and brushes the sakura petals off sky blue hair. 


End file.
